How to set up a Contract

Overview

When a Customer awards you the task of servicing their properties, a Contract must first be established within the system. 

A Contract will define such things as the start and end date of the agreement, the agreed labour and equipment rates as well as a host of other items.

Once a Contract is defined, the Properties associated with that Contract can then be added.

Creating a New Contract

1. You can add a new Contract via the [Create] menu or through the [Customers] screen.

2. You will then be prompted to enter some initial information about the Contract. Give the Contract a 'Name', then set the 'Contract Type'.

A Contract type is used to indicate the type of your Contract and is mainly used for reporting purposes. With the exception of 'Other', the Contract Type provides a categorisation of your Contract upon which you can search.

The Contract Type can be set to one of the following:

3. Set the 'Start Date' to the date the Contract commences and set the 'Duration' as the number of months it extends for. 

4. Set the 'Contract Renewal Type' to be one of the following:

5. The 'Renewal Date' will be automatically set based on the 'Start Date' + 'Duration'. Should you select 'Automatic' as the 'Contract Renewal Type' then the system will automatically reset the Contract renewal date at this point in time.

6. When the Contract is created you will be taken to the Contract screen where additional information can be added.

Changing the Details of a Contract

1. From within the Contract screen, you can edit the details of the Contract by selecting 'Details' option from the menu and then selecting [Edit Contract Details].

2. When you're finished changing the details of the Contract, select [Save Contract Details] to save your changes.

Adding a Contract Rate to a Contract

Contracts can be defined with agreed Rates to be applied to inspections and testing for specific System & Equipment Types. Routine Activities carried out as a part of the Contract will then have these rates applied to the Contract Invoice.

1. To add a new Contract Rate, select [Contract Rates] from the menu and select [Add Contract Rate]

2. Then select ‘System Equipment & Type’ that the Rate should apply to

3. Set the ‘Start Date’ and ‘End Date’ for when the Rates should apply. Please note that you should only set an 'End Date' if you want that S&E rate to stop being invoiced, and let the rest of the S&E Rates continue to be invoiced. An end date for all rates is controlled by the end of the Contract.

4. Set the ‘Annual Amount’ which will be the total annual value ex Tax of the Rate being defined.

5. Select [Save Contract Rate] to save the new Rate for the Contract.

Adding a Labour Rate to a Contract

Contracts can be defined with agreed labour rates for specific System & Equipment Types. Any services carried out as a part of the Contract will then have these labour rates applied to the likes of Quotes and Invoices.

1. To add a new Labour Rate, select [Labour Rates] from the menu and select [Add Labour Rate].

2. Select ‘System Equipment & Type’ that the Rate should apply to

3. Set the ‘Regular’ and ‘After Hours’ rate ex Tax to apply to standard labour charges

4. If Travel Rates have been agreed, set the ‘Regular Rate’ and ‘After Hours Rate’ for Travel. Please note this is an hourly rate, not a distance rate. To charge for distance, you will need to add an inventory item.

5. If you are applying minimum call-out charges to your Job invoices then set the ‘Regular Rate’ and ‘After Hours Rate’.

6. Should you wish to add an Attendance Fee to your Job invoices then set the amount to apply in ‘Attendance Fee’.

7. Select ‘Save Labour Rate’ to save the new labour rate for the Contract.

Adding an Inventory Rate to a Contract

Contracts can be defined with agreed prices for specific Inventory items. Any services carried out as a part of the Contract will then have these Inventory prices applied to the likes of Quotes and Invoices.

1. To add a new Inventory Rate, select [Inventory Rates] from the menu and select [Add Inventory Rate].

2. Search for the Inventory item to apply the rate to.

3. The ‘Cost Price’ will be automatically set once you select the Inventory item. This comes from the default cost price on the default inventory Item and cannot be changed here.

4. By setting the ‘Margin %’ the ‘Sell Price’ will be automatically calculated when you tab out of the 'Margin %' field. Alternatively, set the ‘Sell Price’ manually.

5. Select [Save Inventory Rate] to save the new Inventory rate for the Contract.

Adding a Fee to a Contract

There are occasions where you might like to add a Fee to the Contract for the likes of Administration charges. This can be a one-off fee or an additional fee added to every Contract related Invoice.

1. To add a Fee to a Contract, select [Fees] from the menu and then select [Create New Fee].

2. Set the Fee Type to either 'One Off' or 'Contract Invoice'. A 'One Off' fee will only be added to the first Contract Invoice generated for the Contract whereas a 'Contract Invoice' fee will be added to every Contract Invoice generated for the Contract.

3. Set the 'Amount' ex Tax which will be the Fee applied to the Invoice(s)

4. Set the 'Start Date' and 'End Date' for which the Fee should be applied.

5. Set the 'Account Code' to either an existing Account Code based on the Contract's Business Entity account code set up or alternatively, type in a new Account Code which will be saved against the Fee.

6. Enter a 'Description' to explain why the fee is being added to the Contract. This description will show on the printed invoice.

7. Select [Save Contract Fee] to save the Fee to the Contract.

Adding a Contact to a Contract

Contacts represent the people who represent your Contract. They are often addressed in Invoicing and Quotes and can receive asset-related reports.

1. To add a Contact to your Contract, select [Contacts] from the menu and then select [Add Contact].

2. You can add a new Contact by filling out the form and selecting 'Save' or choose an existing Contact you may have already added previously in your system.

Quotes, Invoicing and Delivery Settings

When setting up a Contract you can define the settings around Quotes, Invoicing and the Delivery of service work for this Contract.

These settings a primarily used when you run two or more Trading companies (Business Entities) within your business. 

Invoices can be sent on behalf of one of your Trading companies but then have the work completed by another. This then helps in keeping track of revenue for each business and ensures your Customer is quoted and invoiced from the company you engaged the Customer with.

These settings will default from the Customer that the Contract belongs to.

1. To change any of these settings select [Edit].

2. Then to save your changes select [Save].

Adding Notes to a Contract

Notes can be added to a Contract which is used to communicate to Users when viewing information relating to the Contract.

A note can be defined as either Passive, Coordinator or Technician Note

1. To add a new Note to a Contract select the [Notes] option on the menu. Then select [Add Note].

2. Select the Type that the Note is, then enter the Note Details. Set the Start and Expiry dates. The Start and Expiry dates are used to control what period the Note will display for.

3. To save your Note select [Save].

Adding Attachments to a Contract

Files can be attached against a Contract for later reference. These can be of any type and size.

1. To attach a file to the Contract, select [Attachments] from the menu and select [Add Attachment].

2. Set the 'Type' of the file you are uploading. The Type can be one of the following:

3. Select 'Browse' to locate the File(s) you wish to upload and attach against the Contract . If it's easier, you can also drag and drop the file from your desktop.

4. Select [Create] to save the files uploaded as attachments on the Contract. 

5. Once the files are uploaded you can download them by selecting the File attachment name on the screen.

Add a Property to a Contract

Each Contract needs to be set up with one or more Properties that the Contract covers. These are the Properties that will be serviced during the lifetime of the Contract.

1. To add a Property to a Contract select [Properties] from the menu and select [Add Property].

2. Give the Property a Name. This may be the business name or the address of the Property.

3. Set the 'Region/Zone' for where the Property belongs to as well as the Address of the Property and select [Create] to finish creating the new Property for your Contract.

4. At this point you will be redirected to the Property screen where you can add additional information regarding your Property.